[Thoracic Trauma - Prehospital Treatment].

Penetrating thoracic injuries are rare in Germany and common in urban regions. 10 percent of the patients in Emergency Departments suffer from blunt thoracic trauma. Mechanism of trauma can predict the severity of the injuries. Very fast life-threatening injuries with hemodynamic problems like tension pneumothorax or cardiac tamponade have to be diagnosed. Prehospital emergency physicians need skills in ultrasound for diagnosis and in invasive therapy like chest tube or pericardium drainage tube. The application of an algorithm in exploration of a thoracic trauma seems to be useful. The selection of trauma center depends on the severity of the trauma, if necessary with the availability of extracorporeal circulation.